Method of treatment of residue remaining after extracting soluble substances from malt grain



Myrejfller W g @l M. M. KOLLER METHOD 0F TREATMENT OF RESIDUE REMAININGAFTER EXTRACTING SOLUBLE SUBSTANCES FROM MALT GRAIN Filed OCT..

March 31, 1931.

.Patented Mar. 31, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MARGARET M. xoLLER;or ELMHUns'r, 'ILLINOIS METHOD F TREATMENT .OF RESIDE. REMAINING AFTEREXTRACTING SOLUBLE l SUBS'ILANCES FROM MALT GRAIN Application ledOctober 12, 1927. Serial No. 225,680.

This invention relates to an improved method of an a paratus for thetreatment of residue from fbod stuif processes wherein the residue hasheretofore either been kept in storage tanks until precipitation hastaken place in a natural way, or the residue is turned into a sewagedisposal plant, or otherwise disposed of as Waste material. When kept intreatment tanks and permitted to preci itate in the usual way, afermentation ta es place which in m knowledge has entailed great expensein t e installation, maintenance and o ration of such tanks; that wherethe resi ue was turned into a sewage l disposal plant it started toferment before it was treated and resulted in 'overflowing the tanks andcausing damage and untenable conditions. Where the residue was turnedinto a neighboring stream it was found to pollute the stream and even tocreate odors which in the vicinit of the stream, made living conditionsvhig y undesirable.

The residue to which I have reference 1s that known to those familiarwith the art, as pressed juice or underdough, a colloidal, gra coloredilocculent substance, being partia ly liquid refuse from the spent grainpress which remains after the production of food stuffs from malt-grain,such for example, as the well-known malt extracts. To precipitate thesolids out of pressed juice in the natural way requires from a week toten da s and during preci itation fermentation t es place wvhlch ren ersthe not only wastes a material suitable by my discovery for use itselfas a .food stuf,'but makes it impracticable of' convenient disposal.`

This residue I-have found to normally precipitate solids inapproximately a ratio of about 8% to 10% of the mass, when treatedaccording -to, my invention, characterized by substantlally entireabsence of fermentation or decay, and when treated according to myinvention, the precipitated solids a're found to be inert, andtherefore, valuable as a food f-stulf, particularly for live stock, andmay be combined Withthe spent grain which is another by-product of theprocesses referred to.

solids unsuitable for any practical use, andV cipitants besidesrequiring the services of men twenty-four hours a da In addition, theprecipitants increase the ulk of the preclpitate and destroys its valueas food.

The principal object of my inventionresides in the provision of animproved process or method of treatment of a food stuil` residue'subject to fermentation whereby to accelerate .preclpitation and renderthe resultant byproduct inert; the process Awhich accelerates 7precipitationand prevents fermentation; the process which involves thetreatment of a .food stuff residue ordinarily inedible to render thesame suitable as a food stuff; the provision of an improved process andapparatus for carrying out the process which includes the vtreatment ofa waste product which is ordinarily inedible and which according to theprocess of this invention, may be rendered suitable for use as an animalfood 8 stuff; the provision of an improved process of electricallytreating a residue material for rendering the same inert; the improvedprocess of treating a suspended residue for precipitation of the'valuable portions thereof 85 and for preventing fermentation .thereof;f and the provision of an improved process for treating the residueremaining after` the extraction of soluble constituents from malt grainfor rendering the residue inertand'v suitable for use as a food stui.

In the drawings, I have illustrated diagrammatically one apparatus whichmay be conveniently employed for carrying out the 95 process. l

VThe process involved in the present invention resides; in an electricaltreatment of a residue which, as pointed out above, ordi- :narilylisdisposed of as waste material. In 10 suitable as a food stuff and thisresidue consists generally of the materials known as spent-grain andpressed juice. The spent grain is ordinarily `drawn off readily, owingto its natural separation in the process from the pressed juice, but thepressed juice is the residue which, u to the present invention, has beenunsuita le for any useful purpose and has been ordinarily disposed of aswaste. In my invention, I withdraw the pressed juice and deposit it in asuitable tank ir amount of say, 5,(1200 gallons. This tank is equippedwith one or more positive and one or morenegative electrodes and anelectric current is allowed` to flow through the waste materialthat is,the pressed juice, as an electrolyte. I have foundJ by test tubeexperiments, that employment of one and one-half volts direct currentwill inabout 8 hours completely change the sample of pressedjuice froman acid state to an alkaline state, that is, render the sample ofmaterial inert and at the same time precipitate the solids in the.amount of from eight to ten percent. Where the material is placed'in atank, it is necessary that the voltage be increased gradually as theprecipitation proceeds, for the reason that the water or other liquidleft by the process of precipitation increases the resistance of the Howof the electric current and, therefore, necessitates gradual increase inthe, voltage so that a. substantially constant current will be caused toiiow through the electrolyte.

The use of a generator is necessary to furnish the required voltage, thelatter depending upon the resistance of the material. The appearance ofthe precipitate is substantially the same as where it is allowed tosettle inthe natural manner and the electrolytic treatment of myinvention results in a complete sedimentation of -the suspendedparticles.

The steps of the processare therefore to.

draw olf the pressed juice from theft'ank in which it is deposited bythe food stuff process referred to and deposit this pressed juice in asuitable tank for treatmentby my invention. I then, apply the directcurrent at a voltage determined by experiment to obtain the best resultsin the precipitation of the so1ids. In order to insure a constantcurrent flowing hours, and becomes completely alkaline at the end ofeight hours treatment.

In the drawings I have shown a mash tub or tank 10 in which is indicatedat 11 the so-called spent grain from the food stuff process firstreferred to and the pressed julce is indicated at 12. A perforated falsebottom 20 permits the pressed juice 12 to pass therethrough, leaving thespent grain 11 to collect on the false bottom.

The kettle or tank in which my improved process is carried out isindicated at 13 and a conduit 14 controlled by a valve 15 serves toconduct the pressed juice or underdough 12 from the tank 10 to the tank18. The inner surface of the tank indicated Vat 16 is preferably linedwith tin as the negative electrode and a positive electrode 17 of steelis introduced into the tank so as to be completely surrounded bycontents thereof. Best results are obtained by using decarbonized steelin the electrode 17. Upon completion of the precipitation process, thesupernatent liquid is drawn off through the valve 19. The precipitate inthe amount of eight to ten percent indicated at 18 can thus be drawn offthrough a door 21 and if desired, conducted away and placed in storageor mixed with the spent grain in a proper proportion to serve with saidVspent grain as live stock feed.

Thus it will be seen that from my invention, I am enabled to convert anotherwise waste material into a valuable and useful byproduct for thepurpose set forth.

I claim:

A process of producing a food stuff which comprises collecting theresidue remaining after extracting soluble constituents from malt grain,separating the acid pressed juice from the spent grain, and flowing anelectric current through said juice for a sufficient period of time toeffect a substantially complete precipitation of the suspended s olidsin said juice and to render the said juice alkaline iny characterwhereby to cause said solids to become inert to fermentation.

In testimony whereof I have ailixed my signature. A

l MARGARET M. KOLLER.

I increase the voltage as precipitation pre- 4 ceeds. After theprecipitation is complete, it will be foundthat the solids thusprecipitated may be mixed with the spent grain of the first mentionedprocess for use as food for rstfatfthe: negative pole after about four

